Resolve
by falsification
Summary: because everyone needs to be needed.  especially sasuke. DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

I stared absently at the sunset, lost in my mind as I casually strolled down the dirt path on the edge of a huge forest. I was thinking about my genin teammates, my sensei, and the chunin exams. An image of orange, pink, and silver flooded into my mind. I rembered them, my team, my friends with a sense of fondness and admiration. I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of feet touching and pushing off tree branches. I halted my lazy pace, listening to the noise as it got closer… my eyes widened involuntarily in surprise. About fifty feet behind the ninja running towards me was another, louder one. The unknown noises were getting closer, but I didn't move. About four yards in front of me, a pink and red bullet shot out of the trees, followed by a red and black one. The female ninja landed on the ground, turning her fall into a summersault, she rolled a few times before standing and glaring towards the shinobi that was chasing her. I recognized the kunoichi as none other than, Konoha's cherry blossom herself, Haruno Sakura. I stared at her slender form in wonder. I hadn't seen her in over seven years. She certainly bloomed in to a beautiful woman. Her cherry pink hair was tied up in a sloppy ponytail; the bangs that sided her face were the same from all those years ago. Her face had slimed down to an oval shape, her features had matured; her eyes –once sea foam green– were now a vibrant apple green. Her nose was longer, slimmer. Her lips were fuller and darker, though I suppose it could've been lipstick, but they were still darker. Her leaf headband was still red and tied around her head like it had always been. She was wearing a red Kimono style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a wide warm grey obi. Unlike Tsunade, she had a white tank top under it. The shirt was shorter than usual, falling a few inches above her navel. She was wearing black and red athletic short-shorts, and a strange belt that had a three quarter skirt on it. The skirt had the Haruno symbol on the bottom, intertwined with a black circle to counter the white one. Her boots were folded over at the knee, a bit of fishnet sticking out of the left one. She had a ruby on a silver chain around her neck, hanging to just above her bust; which, by the way, was big enough to rival the size of Tsunade's. The ANBU tattoo was clearly imprinted on her upper arm, not concealed. There was a leather cord wrapped around her left wrist, and fishnet on her right elbow. She had multiple medical and general packs slung around her waist, and a Tanto sitting above the huge medical pack on her back. I looked her up and down once more before she rushed at her opponent. She pulled a kunai out of the holster strapped to her thigh. Though the ninja dodged her rather straightforward attack, she caught his wrist as he jumped out of the way. She yanked him harshly downward and to left, sending him careening into a nearby boulder, effectively disabling him. She turned and jogged over to the downed man, standing over him. She squatted down at his side, whispering something in his ear, before growling in frustration and snatching his left hand and squeezing it roughly, breaking it and earning a scream in return. Her pale eyebrows shot up as she asked again, " Now, are you going to tell me what I want to know, or do I have to injure you further?" He shook his head furiously. She scowled and punched him in the gut harshly, sending him a few feet down into the rock. " How 'bout NOW!" she yelled after him. " Fine!" came his reply. She grinned and pulled him up out the hole she'd created. They whispered to each other for a while before she hugged him and mumbled a 'thank you'. She released him, watching him walk away, unexpectant of her ulterior motive. She flash-stepped behind him, stabbing him in the neck harshly. Letting him fall to the earth with a thud, she kneeled down beside him and began checking herself over for injuries. She found a long gash along her upper arm and a stab wound on her calf. She placed her small hands on them and green chakra oozed out of her palms, healing the results of the battle. She seemed to finally notice my presence, looking up and gazing at me warily. "If you want to fight to, forget it. I need to get back to the village." She said shortly. I almost smiled. _Almost._ " I'm not going to attack you. I don't need your death on my conscience," I joked. She stood, having finished healing herself, and cocked her hip to the side, hands on her waist. "So you think you can beat me?" she asked, doubt evident in her soft voice.

I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. "Oh, I _know_ I can beat you, Sakura," she grinned playfully and began to laugh mockingly. "You really think so, huh? Well… sorry; if you want a fight, you'll have to come with me back to the village. I really need to get back as soon as possible." I thought about it for a moment, deciding on a no. " No. I will not return with you," I said, finality ringing in every word. I watched her, expecting a reply along the lines of, ' OH NO! SASUKE-KUN! COME BACK WITH ME, PLEASE!' Yeah, not what I got. Her face didn't fall, she didn't pout, she didn't even frown a little. She shrugged and said, " Your loss, then." Before turning and jumping of into the forest, calling out over her shoulder, " Bye, Sasuke!" I stared after her retreating footsteps in shock. Before I knew what I was doing, I was following her through the trees. She turned to gaze at me, question in her eyes. " Change your mind?" her voice traveled back to me on the wind. I smiled, a tiny, tiny smile. " Yeah," I was finally returning. After seven years. I could tell by her fond smile that she was thinking the same thing.


	2. Chapter 2

I glanced at the back of the woman in front of me.

We'd been on the move for about an hour now. The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon when she nearly fell out of the branches, fifty feet above ground. I watched her miss a branch and falter in her steady rhythm and begin to descend into the darkness below. I lurched forward and snagged her around the waist, hoisting her up; I stopped jumping to check if she was awake. She was not.

I slung her unconscious form over my shoulder and continued running in the direction of my hometown. I glanced at the sleeping woman over my shoulder, and rethought how I was carrying her. So, I shifted her weight around until I was carrying her bridal-style. Her hair was tickling my neck, and it made me smile reflexively. The pastel strands were surprisingly soft and thick. I moved her head around so it was next to my shoulder, where it was cradled agenst my neck. Her hand twitched towards my chest. When her slender fingers fisted in my shirt, I smirked. She snuggled closer into me; her face was now turned halfway into my bicep. I had the sudden urge to stop and just… absorb her warm, friendly aura. So I pushed it away, pushing on faster.

I looked up to see that we were almost there; the gates should be only about 20 minuets away. I shook Sakura in an attempt to wake her up. She mumbled a little and tried to roll over, but that was pretty much not gonna happen. I put her down, leaned her agenst the tree I was on. While I was doing that, She awoke. Her eyes snapped open, and she was pinning me to the branch before she realized it was me. Her green eyes flooded with realization when she examined my face closer. Her cheeks flushed a delicate rosy pink. " Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize, my instincts just took over!" She got up, offering me a hand. I happily took it, having been almost choked to death.

She examined the area, her face slowly getting more and more confused as she studied. "Where are we?" she asked finally. Eventually her gaze slid to me when I didn't answer. " We're almost there. Konoha is only twenty to thirty minuets away. Let's go." I said lightly, watching her move. She turned around, grabbed my hand and took off in the direction of the village.

"Uchiha! Are you listing to me?" the busty blonde Hokage was yelling at me in her office, holding Sakura. Apparently, she'd been gone for a long time, nearly a year and a half. " Yes, Hokage-sama. I'm listening to every word," I drawled. Her tawny amber eyes narrowed as she stroked Sakura's hair, she'd taken out the rubber binder and let her hair fall to her shoulders.

" Don't you sass me, mister." She was interrupted by someone outside of her rather large office, arguing with one of the ANBU that had been assigned to my case. "Let me in! I need to see the Teme! MOVE!" there was an unceremonious thud, then the double doors swung open to reveal a very angry Naruto. He had changed too, though not as drastically. He still wore orange; his pants were orange, he was wearing a jounin vest under a red short-sleeved robe like thing that was embroidered with black flames along the hem. A flash of light caught my eye. An engagement ring? No fucking way! Who'd want to marry him? Unless, of course… He'd finally caught on with Hinata's feelings for him… I glanced over my shoulder at Sakura's right hand. I sighed. Her hand was bare. I turned my attention back to Naruto. "… Naruto… you baka. It's been a long time," I said, a slight smile gracing my lips. He grinned that trademark grin of his. "Hell yeah, it's been a long time. It's been around… what? Seven YEARS? A lot happened in those seven years, I have take you to dinner, catch up," He turned to Sakura, " You want to come too, Sakura-chan?" he asked her sweetly. She smiled fondly at him, "Sure, Naruto. I've missed you." He smiled and loped over to her, scooping both her and Tsunade up in a hug. He bid us good-bye, hopping out the open window.

"Well, I've decided on your punishment, Uchiha. Since you never really did anything to harm the village, you'll get off easily. One year probation, and you will be reinstated to your previous status as a genin, and you will be part of a genin team again. You will then take part in the chunin exams, and so on. If your behavior is any less than good, you will be put in jail. Dismissed." She released Sakura, in favor of a bottle of sake and her chair. Sakura walked out of the office, pulling me along with her.

We met Naruto at the ramen shop we'd favored as children, but there was a man sitting next to him that I didn't recognize. The man had shaggy honey colored hair and dark, sea blue eyes. My jaw fell open when Sakura leaned over and kissed him lightly, intending to peck his cheek, but he moved his head over so her lips met his for a brief second. She greeted him as 'Ken'. This strange man was invading on my territory. I'd always assumed, after Sakura's proclamation of love the night I left, that she would wait for me to return. But, apparently, that was not the case.

She noticed me staring at 'Ken'. "Oh, Sasuke, I suppose you two haven't met?" She inquired. I plastered a fake smile across my face, as I said, "No, I don't believe we have." She smiled and leaned into the mans well-muscled chest. "Sasuke, this is Ken Utori, my boyfriend, And Ken, this is Uchiha Sasuke, He was on my team when I was a genin," She said, honey dripping from her voice. " Nice to meet you," He held out his hand.

I stared at it. I was fully aware I was being rude. But I was mad. He stole what was once mine. Well, she never really was mine, but he still stole her. I tried to convince myself that I was in no way whatsoever jealous as I watched them through angry eyes as they cuddled and looked like the perfect cliché couple. I knew that once she was with me (like she was supposed to be) we would be nothing like that.

Oh no, we would be much better. We'd be like the super couple. Yeah. We'd have like… wings and we'd fly all over the place. Then we'd breathe fire and shit out monkeys. Yeah, we'd be awesome. All our kids would have black hair and sparkly green eyes. Because I refuse to have pink haired, black eyed little brats running around and fucking up my fantasy.

"Sasuke?" a feminine voice reached out.

As I snapped out of my thoughts, I realized I'd been grumbling and glaring.

"Are you okay? You were scowling. Is everything alright?" As I considered my answer to her question, she began twirling a lock of _his_ hair in between her thumb and forefinger. I felt heat rise like bile up my throat and I turned and stalked off. I heard Naruto shove his chair back and stand up. Footsteps echoed behind me, and a hand clapped down on my shoulder. "Hey, what's up? You're acting weird, like, all tense and stressed and _weird_." Ebony irises flashed over to him and my eyebrows sunk even lower. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "…Wait a minute. You're… you're either really, really pissed about something, or you're like… pmsing or something." He looked dazed and confued, so I turned to face him and said, "Naruto. I'm glad you care so much, but," and then I flipped him off, and continued stalking away from my sputtering best friend.


	3. Chapter 3

The door of my old apartment slammed against the wall so hard, the sheetrock broke, and a large section of wall was gone.

I glared at it for a while, shaking in fury.

"… _Fuck_…" the curse slid out my lips softly. My voice sounded deadly and threatening.

I turned and trudged away, swiping am old, dusty picture frame off of its place on a table. The frame shattered on the hard wood floor, sending shards of glass scuttling away like insects.

My scowl faded as I realized what picture I had ruined.

The official Team 7 picture lay on the ground in a mess of broken glass.

I guessed it was a good analogy.

Team seven was shattered. We were in need of fixing, like the picture in the glass shards.

I decided – after a few minuets – that I needed to relax.

I turned on my heel and grabbed a set of kunai.

I was going training.

I knew where he was going to be. I knew I was right when I heard the sound of explosions and the dull _thwack_ of kunai hitting the targets.

I skipped over the last broken branch before the clearing we used for training. He was there, scowling and angrily throwing kunai at a target that was already over loaded with the knives.

He seemed so immersed in his anger that he didn't notice me.

So I said, experimentally, "Sasuke?"

He froze. His jaw clenched when he saw me.

"Sakura. Why are you here?" he asked flatly.

I could feel myself blush as I looked at the floor.

"I-I was looking for you…" I stuttered.

His eyebrows shot up, and I could _barely _see the tips of his ears turn a slight shade of pink.

"Really?" He seemed elated. Or, well. At least as elated as he could be. "And why would that be?"

My eyes shot open as I realized I had no reason for coming to find him, other than the fact that I wanted to see him.

So I quickly made up one.

"Uh… well. You left in a hurry tonight. We never got to talk." I winced. Even _I_ could see the uncertainty in my voice.

He didn't buy it, I could tell.

It was something in the way his jaw was set, something in his eyes that said, 'You fucking liar.'

I just _knew_.

He smirked. "Sakura. Why are you _really _here?"

I swallowed.

I felt my face harden into a mask.

The mask of a _dirty, dirty liar_.

"I just told you. I wanted to talk with you."

He scowled.

"You liar." He stepped closer, and something about the way he did it… something in the set of his jaw, the look in his eyes… it made me gasp.

He stepped closer still.

"You must have a reason for coming to find me. A _real_ reason," his voice was cold, but not. There was something there... _something_. Like he cared... but as soon as I had thought it, I punched it in the face and sent it to hell.

Because he is Sasuke. And Sasuke doesn't care about what he doesn't care about.

By now he was towering over me, face just inches from mine.

I could feel my hands shaking, feel my breath hitching.

He smirked; he knew it too.

My eyes shifted down… and locked on his lips. Slightly damp, and _so smooth._

I looked back at him.

Then I did something I will never bring myself to fully regret.

I stood up on my toes and put my hand on his cheek, brought his face down to mine, and kissed him.

My stomach did a little flip when I realized that he was actually _participating _in this. That he wasn't pulling away, or slashing my throat and laughing at me while I lay there, slowly bleeding out, or – no. Just no. He wouldn't _kill_ me. Not that easily.

But, he was actively - quite actively, I might add – returning the kiss.

I would say it was about five minuets to an hour later that warm blond hair, and lovely blue eyes began to – loudly – bang at the back of my mind, trying to get through and scream that HEY. You have a boyfriend. Who _loves _you. Which is way more than this guy could ever offer you.

So STOP sucking on his face, and LEAVE.

I scowled.

NO. I yelled back at him… It? Whatever.

I don't wanna stop because he is such a good kisser, and his lips are so soft and- OMIGOD. His tongue is in my mouth. Holy _hell_.

But for some, stupid, dumb, random ass reason, my face left his.

And he looked confused for a second and he was just so _cute_—

But no. I pressed my swollen lips to his cheek and whispered in his ear, "Sorry." And turned on my heel and ran the hell out of there as fast as I could.

I watched her back as she ran away from me as fast as Naruto when they have Free Ramen Hour at Ichirakus.

I blinked.

_What?_

My fingers touched where her lips had been.

I suppose it would have been a strange sight for anyone else to see.

Sasuke Uchiha standing dumbstruck and dazed in the middle of the training grounds, swollen lips and a few bite marks on his neck.

Because… _wow_.

_Wow. _

Well. There it is. Chapter three. These are my first author's notes. I'm kinda excited. But then, no. I'm not.

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this. I know I had fun writing it. But I do feel like the kissing scene was kinda… vague. Because im only 12 and haven't had my first 'official' kiss yet.

On another completely unrelated note, I painted my finger nails last night. They are rainbow colored. And they smell like fruit. Alpaca.

My best friend and I have decided that we are going to buy an Alpaca when we turn 19 and it's name will be Pamella. He will be the best, most sparkly, rainbowy alpaca in EVER. _bitch_.

Also you may expect chapter four in another 7 and a half million years. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Iz be teh evilz. FEAR MEH BITCH:D (thnx for reveiws! I love them! they are mah bebehs. no, they're not. but it would be sooooooooo coolio if they were.)

_

**WE SHOULD TOTALLY START A RIOT. **

**SHUDDUP, INO. NO ONE LIKES YEW.**

**PFFFFTTTT. WHAT THE FUCK EVER FOREHEAD. GO EAT A FREAKING GIRAFFE. **

**YEAH? WELL MAYBE I WILL. **

**OMIGOD, NOOOOO. YEW CANNOT DO THAT. I FORBAID IHTTTT **

**WELL. WHAT THE HELLICOPTER. **

**ME AND HINA-CHAN ARE GONNA PLAN YEW AND SASU- BITCHES WEDDING.**

**WHAT? SASUKE AND I ARE NOT, I REPEAT_ NOT_ GETTING MARRIED. **

**WELL, WHAT THE SON OF A BISKET. THAT BE NOT COOLS, LADEH. **

**WAHTEVZ. YEW KNOW HE TOTALLY WANTS TO HAVE MAH BAYBEHS. **

**YEAYAH HE DOES. HEY!**

**YEEESSS?**

**WE GOTTA COME UP WIT SOME BAHBEH NAMES BEFORE THEY BE BORN.**

**SHEAH, WE TOTALLY SHOULD. **

**SOOOO... HOUZ ABOUT... INO!**

**INO. SHUDDUP AND JUMP OFF A BRIDGE BEFORE I FUCKIN' _PUSH_ YEW. **

**AWWWW... WHY YEW BEH SO MEAN TO MEH?**

welll... that was strange.

AWKWARD TURTLE.


End file.
